A method and apparatus for detecting static objects and broadside objects in a vehicular radar system is presented. Detection data within a field of view for a host vehicle is acquired. A histogram process is used to determine a presence of at least one of a static object and a broadside vehicle. The histogram process includes generating ratios of a relative velocity of an object (Vr) to host velocity (Vh) from acquired detection data and determining a number of detections which occur at an angle α corresponding to an intersection of two lines with a first line represented by Vr/Vh=0 and a region of a second line within the FOV along which Vr/Vh≠0. The detections are filtered to identify only those detection points at a first and second predetermined values of α, wherein the identified detections indicate a presence of a static object and/or a broadside vehicle.
Legal claims defining the scope of protection, as filed with the USPTO.
1. A method for detecting static objects and broadside objects in a vehicular radar system, the method comprising: acquiring detection data within a field of view (FOV) of a host vehicle using the vehicular radar system; and using a histogram process to determine a presence of at least one of: a static infrastructure object and a broadside vehicle, wherein using a histogram process comprises: generating ratios of a relative velocity of an object (Vr) to host velocity (Vh) from the acquired detection data; plotting said detection data in a two-dimensional (2D) plot of Vr/Vh versus Angle of Arrival (AoA) graph; producing a histogram of an angle α from a line Vr/Vh=zero from said 2D plot; updating said histogram with a filter to produce a filtered histogram; and determining locations of at least one peak in said filtered histogram, wherein a peak location indicates a presence of at least one of a static object and a broadside vehicle, wherein determining a location of at least one peak includes determining a peak at angle α of about minus forty-five degrees indicating a presence of a static infrastructure object, and determining a peak at angle α of about zero degrees indicating a presence of a broadside vehicle.
2. The method of claim 1 wherein using said histogram process comprises: determining a number of detections which occur at an angle α where the angle α corresponds to an intersection of two lines with a first line represented by Vr/Vh=0 and a region of a second line within the FOV along which Vr/Vh≠0.
3. The method of claim 2 further comprising filtering the detections to identify only those detection points at a first predetermined value of α.
4. The method of claim 3 further comprising filtering the detections to identify only those detections at a second predetermined value of α.
5. The method of claim 4 wherein the identified detections at the second predetermined value of α indicate a presence of a broadside vehicle.
6. The method of claim 3 wherein the identified detections at the first predetermined value of α indicate a presence of a static object.
7. The method of claim 1 further comprising providing a notification upon detecting at least one of a static object and a broadside vehicle.
8. The method of claim 1 further comprising determining a lateral range of at least one of a static object and a broadside vehicle.
9. The method of claim 1 wherein said FOV is equal to or less than about ninety degrees.
10. The method of claim 1 wherein the angle α=180/π×a tan {(Vr/Vh)/(AoA−π/2)}.
11. An apparatus comprising: a transmitter configured to transmit sets of radar pulses; a receiver for receiving sets of return pulses from an object within a field of view (FOV) of a host vehicle using the apparatus: and a processor to acquire from the receiver a set of range and angle detection data relating to the return pulses; and the processor using a histogram process to determine a presence of at least one of a static object and a broadside vehicle, wherein the processor using said histogram process comprises: the processor generating ratios of a relative velocity of an object (Vr) to host velocity (Vh) from the acquired detection data; the processor plotting said detection data in a two-dimensional (2D) plot of Vr/Vh versus AoA graph; and the processor producing a histogram of an angle α from a line Vr/Vh=zero from said 2D plot; the processor updating said histogram with an averaging technique to produce a time averaged histogram; and the processor determining locations of at least one peak in said averaged histogram, wherein a peak location indicates a presence of at least one of a static object and a broadside vehicle, wherein the processor determining a location of at least one peak includes the processor determining a peak at angle α of about minus forty-five degrees indicating a presence of a static infrastructure object, and the processor determining a peak at angle α of about zero degrees indicating a presence of a broadside vehicle.
12. The apparatus of claim 11 wherein the processor using said histogram process comprises the processor: determining a number of detections which occur at an angle α where the angle α corresponds to an intersection of two lines with a first line represented by Vr/Vh=0 and a region of a second line within the FOV along which Vr/Vh≠0.
13. The apparatus of claim 12 further comprising the processor filtering the detections to identify only those detection points at a first predetermined value of α.
14. The apparatus of claim 13 further comprising the processor filtering the detections to identify only those detections at a second predetermined value of α.
15. The apparatus of claim 14 wherein the identified detections at the second predetermined value of α indicate a presence of a broadside vehicle.
16. The apparatus of claim 13 wherein the identified detections at the first predetermined value of α indicate a presence of a static object.
17. The apparatus of claim 11 further comprising the processor providing a notification upon detecting at least one of a static object and a broadside vehicle.
18. The apparatus of claim 11 further comprising the processor determining a lateral range of at least one of a static object and a broadside vehicle.
19. The apparatus of claim 11 wherein said FOV is equal to or less than about ninety degrees.
20. The apparatus of claim 11 wherein the angle α=180/π×a tan {(Vr/Vh)/(AoA−π/2)}.
21. A computer program product including a non-transitory computer readable storage medium having computer program code encoded thereon that when executed on a processor of a computer causes the computer to operate a vehicular radar system, the computer program product comprising: computer program code for acquiring detection data within a field of view (FOV) of a host vehicle using the vehicular radar system; and computer program code for using a histogram process to determine a presence of at least one of: a static infrastructure object and a broadside vehicle, wherein the computer program code for using a histogram process comprises: computer program code for generating ratios of a relative velocity of an object (Vr) to host velocity (Vh) from the acquired detection data; computer program code for plotting said detection data in a two-dimensional (2D) plot of Vr/Vh versus Angle of Arrival (AoA) graph; computer program code for producing a histogram of an angle α from a line Vr/Vh=zero from said 2D plot; computer program code for updating said histogram with a filter to produce a filtered histogram; and computer program code for determining locations of at least one peak in said filtered histogram, wherein a peak location indicates a presence of at least one of a static object and a broadside vehicle, wherein determining a location of at least one peak includes determining a peak at angle α of about minus forty-five degrees indicating a presence of a static infrastructure object, and determining a peak at angle α of about zero degrees indicating a presence of a broadside vehicle.
22. The computer program product of claim 21 wherein using said computer program code for using a histogram process comprises: computer program code for determining a number of detections which occur at an angle α where the angle α corresponds to an intersection of two lines with a first line represented by Vr/Vh=0 and a region of a second line within the FOV along which Vr/Vh≠0.
23. The computer program product of claim 22 further comprising computer program code for filtering the detections to identify only those detection points at a first predetermined value of α.
24. The computer program product of claim 23 further comprising computer program code for filtering the detections to identify only those detections at a second predetermined value of α.
25. The computer program product of claim 23 further comprising computer program code wherein the identified detections at the first predetermined value of α indicate a presence of a static object.
26. The computer program product of claim 24 further comprising computer program code wherein the identified detections at the second predetermined value of α indicate a presence of a broadside vehicle.
27. The computer program product of claim 21 further comprising computer program code for providing a notification upon detecting at least one of a static object and a broadside vehicle.
28. The computer program product of claim 21 further comprising further comprising computer program code for determining a lateral range of at least one of a static object and a broadside vehicle.
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July 28, 2017
March 10, 2020
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